You know that long week between Christmas and New Year’s Day? I’m sure you have found plenty to do, but I figured I could mention some of the things we have done, just for the anyhow. The whole week feels kind of “anyhow”, doesn’t it?

We suspended all regular scheduled activities. Gabriel had a larger chunk of time off work than we remember ever happening around Christmas: three days! Our plans to have my parents and sister’s family here over that time were all nixed by sickness in their households. We pivoted hard, lit all the candles, and celebrated on our own, with a local friend joining us for Christmas lunch. It was so warm, it was simply amazing in a brown and grey sort of way. There was one tiny snow pile left in the morning, but it was melted by noon.

My favorite gift is this vacuum sealer for jars. Rita got a gleam in her eye when she saw it, and we promptly started sealing jars full of random dry ingredients. It works like a charm (without batteries!) and opens a whole vista of possibilities in the pantry. My other favorite was The Terrible Speed of Mercy, by Jonathon Rogers. I have to say, Gabriel really came through on my Amazon wish list. I don’t know if there is a better definition for “broad hint”, but it works for us.

This week there were games and puzzles and eggnog made with raw milk, free-range eggs, and freshly ground nutmeg. We have perfected a lavender latte that even my brother Nate would surely approve of. There were cookies and way too much candy, so that I hid some of it away for later festivities when the cousins are better and come to see us after all.

The girls spent hours and hours assembling this tiny book nook. It required much more patience than I have, but they loved it.

We made bread: normal bread, garlic bread stuffed with cheese and butter, raisin/cinnamon sourdough bread. We’re working on the leftovers of ham and potatoes, but we also had nourishing vegetable soup and lots of oranges.

Rita’s tiny chicken started laying tiny eggs, which she gloats over and fries for tiny meals. The chickens are living their best December lives, since I am allowing them to free range. They scurry to the ground under the bird feeder first thing every day, scratching up anything the chickadees may have dropped.

I ran out of printer ink half-way through the annual Christmas letter, so when the ink refill came in the mail, I finished that. I actually love that little rite of passage! Some of you will be getting those letters this week. There were quite a few letters in our mailbox this week, as well, and I bless every one who takes the time to send us a family update!

The students around here worked long and hard to get through second semester exams before the holidays, although one of them did not quite get her pre-algebra test done, so that was kind of hanging over her in this aimless week, and finally she just did it. That means that the girls are halfway through this school year! Wow.

By Thursday, Addy was so bored that she decided to do some lessons just for the anyhow. I won’t say we worried overmuch about doing maths in PJs, and we might say, “Some things were learned without too much supervision or aggression.” Addy is currently finishing an astronomy report that she thought would be terribly boring. The problem was that she chose that enigmatic planet, Uranus, and I had to help her dig up some excitement, but in the end she prevailed. Conclusion: we humans could not live on Uranus.

Olivia is trying to narrow down her ideas for her library research report coming up. She needs a large subject so that it can fill many pages, and was considering a history of France. “No way!” advised Rita, “you don’t want to deal with all those King Louies!” I agreed, and she is now thinking of doing a report on the country of Mongolia. Yogurt, yurts, and yaks sound much more writable.

The older girls played volleyball and Addy and I went sleuthing for bubble tea and a quiet place to read library books. Then we still had time before we needed to pick up the girls, so we stopped to visit a friend who is 104 years old. As usual, Sister Fran’s tiny frame was spilling over with sweetness. She held Addy’s face in her withered hands and blessed her for her smile and her sparkling eyes, “May the Lord bless you and keep you all the days of your life, sweet child.”

Gabriel and Gregory spent two days in the basement, cutting out openings in the block wall for egress windows so that we can have bedrooms down there. The wiring needed to be redone, and a wall installed. They are ready for drywall and light fixtures. It took me back to the other days of renovations when my best contribution was hauling out trash and sweeping, sweeping the endless mounds of debris.

This morning when the sun shone brightly through the south-facing windows, I noticed a thin film of concrete dust that apparently filtered up through cracks onto everything, so we spent some time fixing that problem. The dog bed got washed, the pine branches that were shedding got thrown out, and here we are. It’s only Friday yet.

I googled “why isn’t my dryer heating?” this morning, and thankfully hung sheets on the line in that same sunshine that had shown me the dust in the house. It’s gone now, smothered by the solid clouds we have come to expect, but it was there long enough to reassure us that there is, in fact, a sun up there. That is good!

I have one more frog to eat this week, and this post has been my stall tactic. I need to do the tax prep for my pottery business. It has been the worst stressor in our marriage in the past. My husband is a very credible accountant and I… am not. However. I have learned to keep records more carefully throughout the year. Last year I did the books all by myself and this year I will do so again. The statements are printed out and right here beside me. Thoughts and prayers appreciated.